Freehub repair

A customer called me, saying that “the pedals are turning but the wheel isn’t”

bikemobile_freehub1Despite being an expensive bike it had been poorly maintained, and dirt had found it’s way into the freehub [the part that clicks when you are freewheeling].

This was my first ‘mobile’ job (see notes below), which explains why I’m working on the customer’s driveway!

 

The correct thing to do would be to order a new freehub (approx £25), but the owner was keen to get the bike back on the road quickly. The solution was to strip down the freehub (see photo below), clean, re-grease and reassemble it. In this case the ballbearings were damaged so these were replaced.

bikemobile_freehub2


 

Notes: This was a mobile call out, as the customer wanted the bike to be repaired at his house. I found it a lot more difficult than working on bikes at my workshop in Battle, because of the huge number of tools I needed to carry (you never know what you’re going to need!). While I’ll try to avoid mobile work in the future, it can be done.